How to remove Conduit Search (Virus Removal Guide)

Conduit Search is a browser hikacker program that has changed your browser homepage to search.conduit.com and default search engine to bing.com.
Apart from this unwanted changes, Conduit Search will add a toolbar on your browser and whenever your are doing a search, it will display on the first search results their own ads.
Conduit Search got on your computer after you have installed another program that had bundled in their installer the Conduit Search toolbar.

You should always pay attention when installing software because often, a software installer includes optional installs, such as this Conduit Search. Be very careful what you agree to install. Always opt for the custom installation and deselect anything that is not familiar, especially optional software that you never wanted to download and install in the first place. It goes without saying that you should not install software that you don’t trust.

How to remove Conduit Search and search.conduit.com (Virus Removal Guide)

In this first step, we will try to identify and remove any malicious program that might be installed on your computer.

To uninstall the malicious program responsible for the Conduit Search and search.conduit.com redirect from Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7, click the Start button, then click on the Control Panel menu option.
If you are using Windows 8, simply drag your mouse pointer to the right edge of the screen, select Search from the list and search for “control panel” .Or you can right-click on a bottom left hot corner (formerly known as the Start button) and select Control Panel from there.

When the Control Panel window opens click on the Uninstall a program option under Programs category. This option is shown by the arrow in the image below. If you are using the Classic View of the Control Panel, then you would double-click on the Programs and Features icon instead.

When the Programs and Features or the Uninstall a Program screen is displayed, scroll through the list of currently installed programs and uninstall Search Protect by Client Connect LTD, ValueApps, Conduit Toolbar and any other program from Conduit, Aztec Media or Spigot.
To view the most recently installed programs, you can click on the “Installed On” column to sort your program by the installation date. Scroll though the list, and uninstall any unwanted or unknown programs.
Depending on what program has installed the Conduit Search and search.conduit.com infection, the above program may have a different name or not be installed on your computer. If you cannot find any unwanted or unknown programs on your machine, then you can proceed with the next step.

If you are having issues while trying to uninstall the Conduit Search program, you can use Revo Uninstaller to completely remove this unwanted program from your machine.

If you’re having problems with Firefox, resetting it can help. The reset feature fixes many issues by restoring Firefox to its factory default state while saving your essential information like bookmarks, passwords, web form auto-fill information, browsing history and open tabs.

In the upper-right corner of the Firefox window, click the Firefox menu button (), the click on the “Help” () button.

From the Help menu, choose Troubleshooting Information.

Click the “Reset Firefox” button in the upper-right corner of the “Troubleshooting Information” page.

To continue, click on the “Reset Firefox” button in the new confirmation window that opens.

Firefox will close itself and will revert to its default settings. When it’s done, a window will list the information that was imported. Click on the “Finish“.

Note: Your old Firefox profile will be placed on your desktop in a folder named “Old Firefox Data“. If the reset didn’t fix your problem you can restore some of the information not saved by copying files to the new profile that was created. If you don’t need this folder any longer, you should delete it as it contains sensitive information.

Remove Conduit Search and search.conduit.com virus from Google Chrome

Chrome’s Settings should now be displayed in a new tab or window, depending on your configuration. Next, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the Show advanced settings link (as seen in the below example).

Chrome’s advanced Settings should now be displayed. Scroll down until the Reset browser settings section is visible, as shown in the example below. Next, click on the Reset browser settings button.

A confirmation dialog should now be displayed, detailing the components that will be restored to their default state should you continue on with the reset process. To complete the restoration process, click on the Reset button.

The AdwCleaner utility will scan your computer and browser for Conduit Search and search.conduit.com malicious files that may have been installed on your computer without your knowledge.

You can download AdwCleaner utility from the below link.ADWCLEANER DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will automatically download AdwCleaner on your computer)

Before starting AdwCleaner, close all open programs and internet browsers, then double-click on the AdwCleaner icon.
If Windows prompts you as to whether or not you wish to run AdwCleaner, please allow it to run.

When the AdwCleaner program will open, click on the “Scan” button as shown below.
AdwCleaner will now start to search for the Conduit Search and search.conduit.com malicious files that may be installed on your computer.

To remove the Conduit Search and search.conduit.com malicious files that were detected in the previous step, please click on the “Clean” button.

AdwCleaner will now prompt you to save any open files or data as the program will need to reboot the computer. Please do so and then click on the “OK” button.
AdwCleaner will now delete all detected adware from your computer. When it is done it will display an alert that explains what PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs) and Adware are. Please read through this information and then press the “OK” button. You will now be presented with an alert that states AdwCleaner needs to reboot your computer.
Please click on the “OK” button to allow AdwCleaner reboot your computer.

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free uses industry-leading technology to detect and remove all traces of malware, including worms, Trojans, rootkits, rogues, dialers, spyware, and more.
It is important to note that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware works well and should run alongside antivirus software without conflicts.

You can download download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware from the below link.MALWAREBYTES ANTI-MALWARE DOWNLOAD LINK(This link will open a new web page from where you can download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free)

Once downloaded, close all programs, then double-click on the icon on your desktop named “mbam-setup-consumer-2.00.xx” to start the installation of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. You may be presented with a User Account Control dialog asking you if you want to run this file. If this happens, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.

When the installation begins, you will see the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Setup Wizard which will guide you through the installation process.
To install Malwarebytes Anti-Malware on your machine, keep following the prompts by clicking the “Next” button.

Once installed, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will automatically start and you will see a message stating that you should update the program, and that a scan has never been run on your system. To start a system scan you can click on the “Fix Now” button.
Alternatively, you can click on the “Scan” tab and select “Threat Scan“, then click on the “Scan Now” button.

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now check for updates, and if there are any, you will need to click on the “Update Now” button.

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now start scanning your computer for the Conduit Search and search.conduit.com virus. When Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is scanning it will look like the image below.

When the scan has completed, you will now be presented with a screen showing you the malware infections that Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware has detected. To remove the malicious programs that Malwarebytes Anti-malware has found, click on the “Quarantine All” button, and then click on the “Apply Now” button.
Please note that the infections found may be different than what is shown in the image.

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now quarantine all the malicious files and registry keys that it has found. When removing the files, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware may require a reboot in order to remove some of them. If it displays a message stating that it needs to reboot your computer, please allow it to do so.
After your computer will restart, you should open Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and perform another “Threat Scan” scan to verify that there are no remaining threats

STEP 5: Double check for the Conduit Search and search.conduit.com infection with HitmanPro

HitmanPro is a second opinion scanner, designed to rescue your computer from malware (viruses, trojans, rootkits, etc.) that have infected your computer despite all the security measures you have taken (such as anti virus software, firewalls, etc.). HitmanPro is designed to work alongside existing security programs without any conflicts. It scans the computer quickly (less than 5 minutes) and does not slow down the computer.

You can download HitmanPro from the below link:HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK(This link will open a new web page from where you can download HitmanPro)

Double-click on the file named “HitmanPro.exe” (for 32-bit versions of Windows) or “HitmanPro_x64.exe” (for 64-bit versions of Windows). When the program starts you will be presented with the start screen as shown below.
Click on the “Next” button, to install HitmanPro on your computer.

HitmanPro will now begin to scan your computer for Conduit Search and search.conduit.com malicious files.

When it has finished it will display a list of all the malware that the program found as shown in the image below. Click on the “Next” button, to remove Conduit Search and search.conduit.com malware.

Click on the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial, and remove all the malicious files from your computer.

Your computer should now be free of the Conduit Search and search.conduit.com infection. If your current anti-virus solution let this infection through, you may want to consider purchasing the Premium version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to protect against these types of threats in the future, and perform regular computer scans with HitmanPro.
If you are still experiencing problems while trying to remove Conduit Search and search.conduit.com hijacker from your machine, please start a new thread in our Malware Removal Assistance forum.

We love Malwarebytes and HitmanPro!

We really like the free versions of Malwarebytes and HitmanPro, and we love the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Premium and HitmanPro.Alert features.

HitmanPro.Alert prevents good programs from being exploited, stops ransomware from running, and detects a host of different intruders by analyzing their behavior. HitmanPro.Alert will run alongside your current antivirus without any issues.

TIP: What is “malware”?

Malware - short for malicious software - is an umbrella term that refers to any software program deliberately created to perform an unauthorized and often harmful action.
Viruses, backdoors, keyloggers, spyware ,adware, rootkits, and trojans are just a few examples of what is considered malware.
A few years ago,it was once sufficient to call something a 'virus' or 'trojan horse', however today's infection methods and vectors evolved and the terms 'virus and trojan' no longer provided a satisfactory definition for all the types of rogue programs that exist.

TIP: Avoid malware like a pro!

Keep your software up-to-date. This is especially true for things like your operating system, security software and Web browser, but also holds true for just about any program that you frequently use. Viruses often take advantages of bugs or exploits in the code of these programs to propagate to new machines, and while the companies that make the programs are usually quick to fix the holes, those fixes only work if they have been downloaded to your computer.

It's also important to avoid taking actions that could put your computer at risk. These include opening unsolicited email attachments, visiting unknown websites or downloading software from untrustworthy websites or peer-to-peer file transfer networks.

Need help?

If you would like help with any of these fixes, you can ask for free malware removal support in the Malware Removal Assistance forum. In this support forum, a trained staff member will help you clean-up your device by using advanced tools. Never used a forum? Learn how.

Helpful Links

Community

TIP

Without meaning to, you may click a link that installs malware on your computer. To keep your computer safe, only click links and downloads from sites that you trust. Don’t open any unknown file types, or download programs from pop-ups that appear in your browser.

MalwareTips.com is an Independent Website. All trademarks mentioned on this page are the property of their respective owners.We can not be held responsible for any issues that may occur by using this information.